Announcements:
Protests Against Dam Culminate in March on Bogotá
By Rebekah Waldron
(translated from statements published by ONIC and the Embera Katío)
On Wednesday, January 20, over 400 members of the Embera Katío community of indigenous Colombians marched through the streets of Bogotá demanding that the government respond to their concerns over the construction of a hydroelectric mega-dam in their territory.
Protests by the Emberas of Alto Sinú began in October 2004, when the community traveled to Montería to establish a permanent assembly of twenty leaders that occupied the courtyard outside the offices of Empresa Urrá S.A., the company responsible for building the dam. Despite much pressure by officials in the area to demobilize, the assembly stood firm and continued their assembly over a period of weeks. In November they sent a delegation to Bogotá to petition the national government with their concerns and negotiate an agreement that would satisfy both parties involved in the conflict over the dam.
On November 12, the government began the negotiation process with the Embera Katío, but from the beginning showed little interest in arriving at a decision that would respect the rights of the community. The Emberas complained that at the majority of the meetings, government officials with little or no authority to make decisions were sent as representatives. In addition, the Emberas felt that the government failed to make creative proposals, showing a general lack of preparation or engagement with the issues at hand. At one point during the process the government made a unilateral decision to suspend the negotiations for almost two weeks.
When the scheduled period for negotiations ended in December 20 with no resolution, the permanent assembly left Montería in order to occupy an area outside the Ministry of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development in Bogotá. At 1:00 in the morning after the assembly was established, they were forcibly removed by the police. The assembly maintained their presence in Bogotá, regrouping at the offices of the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) and laying plans for remobilization.
In a declaration published by the Emberas the day of the march, they stated that "as of this day, the national government maintains a total disinterest in acting on our petitions and we have not seen a single gesture of their willingness to come to an agreement." The march symbolized a renewed effort to stop the Urrá I mega-dam from being completed and have their cultural, ethnic, environmental and economic rights recognized by the government.
Joining the march were also members of the Yanaconas, Nasas, Uitotos, Wuayúus, Zenues, Ingas, Muiscas, Arhuacos, Kankuamos and other members of indigenous communities. The indigenous guard of Cauca also provided accompaniment and support. Collectively these groups formed a voice for indigenous dignity and autonomy as they descended onto Bolivar Plaza.
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Colombian Rebels Want to Participate in Election
Colombia List Serve, Center for International Policy (CIP)
BOGOTA, Colombia, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Colombia's second biggest Marxist rebel group wants to participate in elections for the first time in its 40-year history by backing a presidential candidate in 2006, according to a report posted on the Internet today.
The 5,000-strong National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish initials ELN, wants to join a left-wing coalition in next year's May vote to contest President Alvaro Uribe's bid for a second term, ELN spokesman Milton Hernandez told left-wing Web site rebelion.org.
Hernandez did not explain how his outlawed group would become involved in the election, and a leading left-wing politician said they would need to disarm to be taken seriously. An analyst said the move suggested the ELN may be edging toward accepting democracy and ending its armed revolution.
The government has tried to open peace negotiations with ELN, but the group has refused to meet its main condition of declaring a cease-fire.
"We have decided to participate in the election," Hernandez said, calling the vote "a historic opportunity to have a government with a democratic character, a political transition between the state and the guerrilla."
The ELN has minimal popular support, according to polls, while Uribe's approval rating is over 70 percent.
Mexico has agreed with the Colombian government to offer itself as a mediator in any peace talks with the ELN. But the rebels, who the army says have suffered heavy losses, have said it would be hard to negotiate with Uribe, a staunch ally of Washington.
"A GOOD SIGN"
Although it is highly unlikely the group is about to lay down its arms, Eduardo Gamarra, director of the Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University, called the announcement "a good sign."
"It might suggest that the ELN is moving in the direction of accepting that Colombia is a representative democracy and the group would like to work within the confines of that democracy," he said.
If the ELN ever decides to end its armed struggle, it could follow the lead of the former left-wing guerrilla group M-19, which in 1989 negotiated a deal to disarm, allowing its members to re-enter civilian life. Former M-19 members helped write a new constitution in 1991 and one is now a prominent senator.
The ELN and much larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, have waged a 40-year guerrilla war that claims thousands of lives each year.
With help from the United States, Uribe has boosted military spending and started peace talks with far-right paramilitaries.
Hernandez said the ELN is looking for a candidate to represent left-wing Colombians who oppose free trade with the United States as well as Plan Colombia, U.S.-backed campaign against insurgents and drug smugglers.
"If the ELN disarms, its political participation would be absolutely valid and necessary for the country," said leftist Bogotá Mayor Luis Eduardo Garzon, who was mentioned by the ELN as a possible coalition candidate. "If it remains armed, obviously this proposal is not valid."
To view the original article by Hugh Bronstein:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N13506843.htm
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U.S. Intervenes To Protect Occidental From Human Rights Lawsuit
Colombia List Serve, Center for International Policy (CIP)
On December 13, 1998, the Colombian Air Force, which has received millions of dollars of assistance from Occidental Petroleum, bombed the small hamlet of Santo Domingo, Colombia, killing 17 civilians, including 7 children. As the LA Times later exposed, this bombing was planned in Room G of Occidental Petroleum's offices in CaZo Limon; was conducted with the assistance of Occidental's security contractor AirScan (another U.S. company) which, utilizing a Skymaster plane provided by Occidental, gave the coordinates for the bombing to the Colombian Air Force as this bombing took place. In addition, the Colombian Air Force liason to Occidental participated in the bombing raid.
In response to this bombing, Colombian plaintiffs who lost relatives in this bombing commenced an action in a federal court in Los Angeles (where Occidental is based) against both Occidental and AirScan under the Alien Tort Claims Act ("ATCA"). The ATCA was passed over 200 years ago and, as the Supreme Court last summer affirmed in the case of Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, provides a cause of action for foreign nationals to sue in U.S. courts for injuries suffered as the result of the violation of well-established international human rights norms. Last February, the court in Los Angeles, at the request of Occidental and over the strenuous objections of the Colombian Plaintiffs, asked the U.S. State Department for its opinion about the implications of the lawsuit for U.S. foreign policy in Colombia.
STATE DEPT. QUANDARY
The State Department found itself in a difficult position, for while its foreign policy in Colombia is largely driven by Occidental's security concerns in that country (more on that later), the State Department had actually condemned the bombing and had consequently cut off assistance to the Colombian Air Force unit involved in the bombing. Therefore, it was hard for the State Department to honestly say that the lawsuit seeking justice for the victims of the bombing of Santo Domingo - a bombing it had condemned - somehow contradicted U.S. foreign policy. As a result, the State Department answered the court's query in April of 2004 by stating that it had no opinion about the case.
This was disappointing to Occidental which counted on the State Department to bail it out of its legal troubles. And indeed, as the LA Times reported on December 30, 2004 in an article entitled, "U.S. Troops Answered Oil Firm's Pleas," the State Department had come to Occidental's rescue in the past by securing approximately $100 million dollars in assistance (from U.S. taxpapers) to the Colombian military for the express purpose of protecting Occidental's pipelines in Colombia. The U.S. has also recently sent U.S. Special Forces to Colombia for the same purpose.
SWITCH IN POLICY
Believing that it could get the State Department to help it out again, Occidental lobbied to change the position set forth in its April, 2004 letter and to take an express position against the lawsuit. The State Department complied with this request, and, on December 23, 2004, sent a revised letter to the court in L.A., now indicating that it believed the lawsuit would adversely impact U.S. foreign policy in Colombia and urging the court to dismiss the case. Betraying its true interests in Colombia and in the case, the State Department's letter is largely dedicated to explaining how the business and investments of Occidental, and other like companies operating in Colombia, will be adversely threatened if this lawsuit is allowed to go forward in the U.S. The State Department urges that the case be dismissed in the interest of these companies and in the interest of the U.S.'s continued access to oil in Colombia.
Of course, the sinister implication of this revised State Department position is that the business and investments of multinationals in Colombia are not safe unless these multinationals are protected from lawsuits for their egregious violations of human rights.
The other notable thing about the letter is that the State Department argues that the case should be tried in Colombia, and that the Colombian Plaintiffs, who have already suffered at the hands of the Colombian government, should seek justice there. This is a quite cynical position given the State Department's own human rights report on Colombia in which it concludes that in 2003, the most recent year reported on, the Colombian "Government's human rights record remained poor" and that 3,000 to 4,000 civilians were killed in the armed conflict. And, even more to the point, the State Department concluded that the Colombian courts are "overburdened, inefficient, and subject to intimidation and corruption by terrorist groups and common criminals," and that "[i]mpunity [for human rights crimes] remained at the core of the country's human rights problems." In short, while the State Department urges the U.S. court to let the Colombian government handle the case, it is quite aware that if left to the corrupt Colombian system, the Plaintiffs will never find justice. And, this is apparently just fine with the State Department.
NOT THE FIRST TIME
This is not the first time the State Department has intervened in such a case. Thus, the State Department sent a similar letter to the court in the case against Exxon-Mobil for its role in sponsoring repressive security forces in Aceh, Indonesia which have murdered scores of civilians, including some who have ended up in mass graves on the Exxon site in Aceh. And, one court has already dismissed a case (involving human rights violations by the Rio Tinto mining company in Papua New Guinea) based upon a similar State Department letter. While no final ruling has been made in the Occidental case, the court has made it clear that it is seriously considering the State Department's letter in deciding whether it will dismiss the case.
What is disturbing about this State Department interference in these cases, and the courts' receptivity to it, is not only the obvious adverse implications for the ability of victims of human rights crimes to obtain justice, especially when the perpetrator is a powerful corporation with undue influence over the State Department, but also the implications for our very democratic system. Thus, if the State Department, by the mere stroke of a pen, can eviscerate a legal cause of action created by Congress over 200 years ago, and reaffirmed by legislation signed into law in 1991, this does not bode well for the continued independent functioning of our courts or for the effective functioning of our Congress. In essence, the State Department is usurping the power of both of these branches of government through its insertion into these cases, threatening the balance and separation of powers which are the very foundation of our democratic system.
To view the original article by Dan Kovalik: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=7020
If you would like to sign up for the CIP Colombia list serve, please email to Adam Isacson: <isacson@ciponline.org>
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
FOR Inaugurates New Team in Bogotá
Responding to the need for greater political support for peace initiatives in Colombia, including the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, the FOR Colombia Peace Presence (CPP) inaugurated a new office in Bogotá in January.
Many of you have supported our team of international volunteers in San José de Apartadó in Northern Colombia since early 2002. The team has lived in San José, providing protective accompaniment to members of the Peace Community, and their presence there has proven to strengthen the Peace Community's security dramatically by dissuading attacks.
The FOR's Bogotá team will meet Colombian and US officials to express FOR's concerns, accompany international delegations visiting Colombia, and give training and support to the team in San José de Apartadó. In the years of our presence in Colombia we learned about many different communities and groups who are working against the violent logic of the country's 50-year-old conflict. These range from a women's network struggling against the impacts of the armed conflict specifically on women, to indigenous guards who defend their communities from the encroachment of armed groups into their territory and culture. The new CPP team in Bogotá also will explore, during an assessment through May, how to support these other inspiring examples of nonviolent alternatives to war.
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Ecumenical Advocacy Days: March 11-14, 2005
"Make All Things New" is the theme of the third annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days gathering in Washington, D.C. addressing urgent global issues. It takes place in the context of a new presidential term, a new Congress and a new opportunity for people of faith to learn together and raise their voices in advocacy for a more just and peaceful world. The conference takes place March 11-14. Ecumenical Advocacy Days will highlight the urgency of pursuing wise and peaceful solutions to conflicts and the need for aid, debt and trade policies that benefit our impoverished brothers and sisters throughout the world.
Participants will examine U.S. policy regarding the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America, global economic justice, global security, eco-justice and U.S. domestic issues.
Several Colombian religious peace leaders will give presentations, including Ricardo Esquivia of Justapaz, Amanda Romero of the Andean Quaker Committee and Rev. Milton Mejía of the Colombian Presbyterian Church. On Saturday March 12 there will be a reception to celebrate the publication of the report Building from the Inside Out: Peace Initiatives in War-Torn Colombia published by FOR and American Friends Service Committee.
For more information call 202-543-4150 or visit the website at www.advocacydays.org
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Human Rights Delegation to Colombia
July 30-August 13, 2005
This summer you can be part of the solution by joining the Fellowship of Reconciliation and Global Exchange as we host a human rights delegation to Colombia. Participants will visit various communities and organizations working for peace in order to learn from their movements and bring a message of hope back to the United States.
The cost per person for the delegation is $1300 which covers a double-room hotel ($200 extra for single room), guest house, or dormitory accommodations; two meals per day; transportation to and from all programmed activities; guides and translators; a qualified trip leader; all program activities; and reading materials. International airfare, lunches, airport departure taxes, tips, and personal expenses are not included.
Contact Global Exchange at 1-800-497-1994 or FOR at <forcolombia@igc.org>, 415 495 6334 with any questions about this trip.
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If you have any further questions about the FOR Colombia program,
please contact us. Thank you again for your ongoing support.
In Peace
Jutta Meier-Wiedenbach
Colombia Program Coordinator
________________________
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Task Force on Latin America and
the Caribbean
2017 Mission St.
#305 San Francisco, CA 94110
phone Phone: (415)
495-6334, fax: (415) 495-5628
www.forusa.org
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If you have any further questions about the FOR Colombia program,
please contact us. Thank you very much for your ongoing support.
In Peace
Jutta Meier-Wiedenbach
Colombia Program Coordinator
____________________________
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Task Force on Latin America and the Caribbean
2017 Mission St. #305
San Francisco, CA 94110
phone: (415) 495-6334, fax: (415) 495-5628
www.forusa.org
